On May 30, 2018, ARC/STSA will host the last Accreditation Fundamentals for Educators (AFE) Workshop of 2018. The workshop will be held in Orlando, Florida, at the Walt Disney Swan and Dolphin hotel. Beginner Site Visitor Training will also be offered. Registration is open through April 30, 2018, on the ARC/STSA website.

New program directors, if you have not yet attended an AFE Workshop, we urge you to join us to ensure you are up to speed on standards and accreditation as you embark on this new role. The ARC/STSA staff and its members are here to help you succeed!   

This year’s February AFE Workshop, held in Charleston, South Carolina, was a day full of learning, discussing issues that matter most to the profession and taking time to connect with peers. Davina Foster, CST, RN, BSN, who attended the February AFE, graciously shared her impressions of the training experience with the ARC/STSA staff, below.

Davina Foster, CST, RN, BSN

The AFE Workshop is an opportunity for educators to ask questions and get clarification on the standards that promote quality education for surgical technology and surgical assisting professionals. During the workshop, Standards I-V were explained in detail, and the application of each standard was demonstrated.

The AFE workshop is also an opportunity to network with other programs and discuss the challenges and accomplishments they experience. To say I had a single experience at the AFE workshop that gave me valuable information would be a huge understatement. For example:

  • A program director shared that she follows her students on social media to stay connected with them well after they graduate;
  • Another program director shared that she built the CST examination into the curriculum, and her students are not able to graduate until they have participated in the Certification Examination; and,
  • Many others shared certification examination preparation tools and the benefits of being involved in the students’ certification examination preparation.

The list could go on … the AFE workshop is an invaluable experience to connect with the ARC/STSA and network with other programs. You would have to be in a deep sleep to not have learned something from the workshop! The ARC/STSA leadership and staff are kind, approachable and knowledgeable. They genuinely want to assist programs to thrive and deliver an excellent education to students. I would attend again, as often as my schedule allows.

— Davina Foster, CST, RN, BSN

Want to learn more about what happens during an AFE Workshop? Check out our recap from February 2018.